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Can anyone recommend a site in the auvergne/ardeche areas of France. We will be taking a trailer tent to France for the first time next summer having done mobile homes for the past few years. We are looking for a site ideally by or close to a lake, high standards of cleanliness etc and hopefully not full of english (experienced this in the dordogne this year!)

Cant recommend a particular site but I am looking at that area for next year and I'm using this website which has some sites that look nice and lots of info about the Ardeche.

Carol

ps Welcome to UKCS.

Hi there, well we stayed in the Auvergne last year at Camping de la Filature.  Several others have been there this year too and I think we all pretty much agree on the following - It is a very tranquil site with a riverside setting and good sized pitches.  The loos and showers are dated but I found them always to be clean.  It doesn't have a pool or lots of entertainment but has a small shop and a bar, although I am told the owner opens it sporadically!

The owners are English and we found them pleasant enough, but they can come over as being a little offhand.  I don't think they mean to be but that is how it is!  The site is used by all nationalities and we found the other Brits on site courteous and quiet.  It is definitely not a rowdy site.

It is in a fantastic place for the gorges and lakes and we canoed just down the road for 10 kms.  The owner also cooks fab food every night which out of season is available for 20 euros a night including your pitch for two people which is great value.  We are talking duck, steaks etc!!  We would go back there, in contrast to our site in the Alps this year that we would not be keen to return to and was poor value in comparison.

Ali

We stayed in les tours last year, nice site but take your walking boots.

We stayed in Chateau le Choisier(www.selectsites.co.uk) but thats near Limoge so dont know if its to far across for you.

  Symon

Hello Lucy,

How refreshing to speak to a first timer!  My husband Boris and I are experienced trailer tenters!  Each year we take our seven children on holiday in our mini pulling along our trailer behind us.  We then spend several hours unpacking all our equipment when we arrive - how delightful! 

If you would like any advice on the best place to buy a porto loo please get back in touch with me - we are experts!  Boris and I share one and then the children have one between them!  How exciting to empty it in the morning!  (remember to wash your hands before cooking breakfast for everyone!)  Please let me know what sort of tent you have - I am always interested in other peoples equipment.

I can recommend a lovely campsite for you and your family in the Ardeche - Camping du Comfortable - its on a beautiful lake and has lovely clean toilets for you and your family to use (1 euro per visit - correct change please!).  It also has an excellent restaurant - last year Boris and I and the seven children had a 3 course meal (Boris had duck and I had steak, the kids had fish) with wine and all drinks for two euros! Try and beat that! 

You will find some English on this site, but most of them are very friendly ( we met a lovely family last year Tammy and Tommy from Tamworth) and each evening there is a Quiz "Who Wants To Be A Camper??" which we all enjoyed.

Anyway good luck with your 'first time' Boris and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!!

Happy Camping

Joey

We have just got back from Camping de Vaubarlet (www.vaubarlet.com), near Sainte Sigolene just south of St Etienne.  A stunning location in a steep sided wooded valley with a small river. It has clean, excellent facilities, a bar whith restaurant and takeaways and of course a pool.  The campers were mostly French and Dutch with the usual small contingent of Belgians and Brits.  The site was quiet and peaceful except for the half crazed Animateur who drove round the site at six each evening in a golf buggy, dressed in a clown outfit, and shouting through a loud-hailer at any children she saw; now what was that all about?

Steve

We stayed in les tours last year, nice site but take your walking boots

Symon, do you need your boots for the campsite or the surrounding area ,any information greatly appreciated

Quote: Originally posted by joeycro on 30/8/2006

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Hello Lucy,

How refreshing to speak to a first timer!  My husband Boris and I are experienced trailer tenters!  Each year we take our seven children on holiday in our mini pulling along our trailer behind us.  We then spend several hours unpacking all our equipment when we arrive - how delightful! 

If you would like any advice on the best place to buy a porto loo please get back in touch with me - we are experts!  Boris and I share one and then the children have one between them!  How exciting to empty it in the morning!  (remember to wash your hands before cooking breakfast for everyone!)  Please let me know what sort of tent you have - I am always interested in other peoples equipment.

I can recommend a lovely campsite for you and your family in the Ardeche - Camping du Comfortable - its on a beautiful lake and has lovely clean toilets for you and your family to use (1 euro per visit - correct change please!).  It also has an excellent restaurant - last year Boris and I and the seven children had a 3 course meal (Boris had duck and I had steak, the kids had fish) with wine and all drinks for two euros! Try and beat that! 

You will find some English on this site, but most of them are very friendly ( we met a lovely family last year Tammy and Tommy from Tamworth) and each evening there is a Quiz "Who Wants To Be A Camper??" which we all enjoyed.

Anyway good luck with your 'first time' Boris and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!!

Happy Camping

Joey

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Quote: Originally posted by Canvas Fran on 27/11/2006

Quote: Originally posted by joeycro on 30/8/2006

Hello Lucy,

How refreshing to speak to a first timer! My husband Boris and I are experienced trailer tenters! Each year we take our seven children on holiday in our mini pulling along our trailer behind us. We then spend several hours unpacking all our equipment when we arrive - how delightful!

If you would like any advice on the best place to buy a porto loo please get back in touch with me - we are experts! Boris and I share one and then the children have one between them! How exciting to empty it in the morning! (remember to wash your hands before cooking breakfast for everyone!) Please let me know what sort of tent you have - I am always interested in other peoples equipment.

I can recommend a lovely campsite for you and your family in the Ardeche - Camping du Comfortable - its on a beautiful lake and has lovely clean toilets for you and your family to use (1 euro per visit - correct change please!). It also has an excellent restaurant - last year Boris and I and the seven children had a 3 course meal (Boris had duck and I had steak, the kids had fish) with wine and all drinks for two euros! Try and beat that!

You will find some English on this site, but most of them are very friendly ( we met a lovely family last year Tammy and Tommy from Tamworth) and each evening there is a Quiz "Who Wants To Be A Camper??" which we all enjoyed.

Anyway good luck with your 'first time' Boris and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!!

Happy Camping

Joey

Windup

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John&Lynn

We stayed at Les Tours in August 2004. Beautiful setting for a site but if the weather isn't good (and we had nearly two weeks of rain) there is very little to do in the surrounding area but walk which is probably why walking boots were suggested. The nearest town is a good twenty minute drive on extremely winding roads so be prepared. As the site is quite high up, the mornings were absolutely freezing too so take some thick jumpers too.

We stayed at Les Parcs des Alicourts in the Loire on the way down from Calais and that broke the journey evenly.